Navigation

Amazon

Adverts

ntl:broadcast associates to strike

Members of the Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU) working for the broadcast division of communications company ntl are due to start industrial action tomorrow over new terms and conditions.

The action, which includes an overtime ban and withdrawal of out-of-hours cover by more than 500 union members, will affect ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, and commercial radio transmitters across the UK, as well as emergency services like the Metropolitan Police, who use ntl to provide their radio communications facilities.

In a ballot of 537 BECTU members at ntl, a record 80% voted, of whom 78% called for action short of a strike in protest at changes to pay and conditions that could cut earnings by up to £4,000 each. In the same ballot, almost 74% of members voted for a full-blown strike.